What's it like to combat TB hand in hand with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation? - Dara Erck

Dara Erck, Episode 031

Dara Erck is vice president, external affairs, for Aeras, where she is responsible for advocacy, communications and resource mobilization. Erck focuses on maintaining and strengthening relationships with external partners and stakeholders. Previously, she was a consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for nearly four years, working on issues such as global health research and development advocacy and on the foundation's relationship with the China Food and Drug Administration.

Before that, Erck was an independent consultant to a variety of global health nonprofits with projects focused on program strategy and financial systems and tools. Earlier, she was director of finance and planning for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. She also has been a management consultant with Computer Sciences Corp. and a program manager in clinical research at Genzyme. Erck holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from George Washington University and a master's in international business and finance from Columbia University.